Always you and I
by Kellie
Summary: my first songfic! it's a k/c fic. neal readers will positively flame me. but that's ok. this is VERY fluffy. hope you like!


Disclaimer- The Song "Always You and I" belongs to the band 98 Degrees. The characters belong to Tamora Pierce.

Author's note- This is my first song fic so if it's horrible I apologize. I know many are tortured with bad fan fiction so if this falls under that category (which it shouldn't) or you just don't like it I'm sorry. Now, on to my first songfic! R/R! Flame only if you have something helpful to say. Just PLEASE use that little box at the bottom of the screen. That's what it's there for. Reviews make me feel all warm inside. ANYWAYS, I know you skipped my note because it's so long. R/R!

Always You and I

_It's so hard to say_

Kel looked at Neal in disbelief.

_How a love could end this way_

He leaned down to kiss the girl in front of him. She leaned back into his door in the squire's wing. He began to turn the knob and open the door to let them in as they passionately kissed. Kel didn't care who the girl was. Neal, HER Neal, the Neal she had been lovers with for two years now, was kissing this stranger.

_The one that used to care for you,_

Tears welled up in Kel's eyes. Neal broke away from the girl in front of him smiling down at her. She drew back into his room. Neal looked around to see if anyone was around to see his "friend." His eyes found their way to Kel.

"Kel?!" he yelled in panic.

_Just turned and walked away._

Kel turned and ran. She ran as fast as her legs would take her. She heard Neal curse and run after her, the other girl forgotten. Kel ran with all her might. Tears streamed down her face. Neal gave her a long chase, yelling out her name and pleading her to stop, but she didn't listen to what he had to say. Neal couldn't keep up with the force behind a broken heart.

_And it's so hard to find,_

_To leave the pain behind,_

_When all the things you're looking for,_

_Your heart can't seem to find._

She had finally lost Neal. She slowed to a walk. Her face was wet and the tears still flowed. They came as if they would never stop.

"Kel?" she jumped at the sound of Cleon's voice.

"Are you ok?" Kel hastily wiped her eyes as Cleon trotted to keep up with her pace.

"Kel, you never cry. What happened?"

_I'll be the air that you breathe_

_I'll give you the strength that you need_

_I'll be the light in your eyes when hope becomes hard to see._

She turned to face him. One look told Cleon all he needed to know.

"Dewdrop, I'm so sorry." She burst into fresh tears. Cleon took her in his arms and rested his chin on her head.

_I'll be you're shining star,_

_To guide you wherever you are._

_And I promise I will be by your side,_

_Always you and I_

Cleon felt the love he had so secretly stored away rise up again. He had always loved Kel. When she and Neal had told their little group that they were in love, he had buried his feelings deep inside him. Now those feelings were clawing their way out. He knew it was far too soon to voice any of his feelings to Kel. She would hurt for a long time.

_You know you're not alone_

_Without a love to call your own_

_I'll always be right there for you_

_To help you carry on_

Cleon kissed Kel's hair. So much he wanted to tell her that she shouldn't be crying. He wanted to tell her that HE would love her.

_A heart that's always true,_

_Girl I'm giving mine to you._

_And every thing you ever need,_

_I promise I will do…_

Kel pulled away from Cleon to look into his eyes. Cleon was overwhelmed to find the sadness and hurt overwhelming her beautiful hazel eyes. Her expression was one that tore his heart out.

"Cleon, Neal cheated on me. I was walking to my room and I saw him…" She choked on the last words. "I wonder how long he's been doing this."

_I'll be the air that you breathe_

_I'll give you the strength that you need_

_I'll be the light in you eyes when hope becomes hard to find_

_I'll be your shining star, to guide you wherever you are_

_And I promise I will be by your side_

_Always you and I_

It had been a year since Kel had the hurtful breakup with Neal. It had also been a year since she had had any friendly contact with Neal. That was partly due to the fact that Neal had been gone much of the time with Sir Alanna. The major reason was that Kel couldn't bring herself to talk to Neal.

Cleon approached Kel's room in the squire's wing. The wing he would soon be leaving. His ordeal wasn't far off. He knocked to see Kel's bright face open the door.

'She's really grown into a beautiful woman now.' He thought.

Her hair had been allowed to grow out. It was now kept just below her shoulders. Cleon always knew Kel was beautiful. But lately she had been enchanting. He had decided that she had had time to heal. Now was the time to tell her.

_Girl all your sleepless hours_

_I will be right there for you_

_With a hand to hold,_

_A heart to see you through_

"Kel, I wanted to talk to you about Neal" he said as he entered into her room.

Kel's face instantly fell. "Why would you want to talk about him?"

Cleon flinched at the tone in her voice as she plopped herself down on the bed. "Listen, Rosebud…"

"Don't you 'rosebud' me Cleon, I don't want to talk about Neal!"

Cleon sighed and pulled her desk chair in front of her and sat down. "Neal comes back next week. Then you leave with Sir Raoul three days later. If you and Neal could talk things over it would save the group a lot of grief. You know how this has torn the group apart. Everyone's given Neal a cold shoulder but I think we all miss him."

Kel was silent for a long time. Cleon let her think on this. "You know how hard it would be for me. I don't forgive easily." She rose from the bed and turned to look out the window. "Joren has been…nice…to us and I still feel uneasy around him. I can't just forgive Neal for what he did."

Cleon stood from his chair to look at her back. "I know you're still hurting and I completely understand where you're coming from, but you have to move on. Learn to forgive. There are plenty of other men out there that could love you infinitely more than Neal did."

Cleon took a deep breath and gathered up his courage. "I know I do. I've always been in love with you."

_Each and every night_

_I will make it right_

_When life feels so wrong_

_Cause in my arms is where you belong…_

Kel was silent for a few seconds. Then, she turned away from the window to look at Cleon. She looked him in the eyes and burst into tears. Cleon was very taken aback by her reaction.

"Kel, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. You clearly need more time to get over Neal." He turned to leave.

"No! Wait!"

Cleon stopped and turned to face her, eyes filled with concern.

"It's not that I'm not over Neal, I'm just so happy you feel that way." Kel threw her arms around Cleon in a fierce hug. "I thought no one would ever love me again. I figured that if even Neal would cheat on me then no one would ever love me. I told myself over and over that I hadn't planned on marrying anyway, but I guess what Neal did just cut too deep. And now, the best person in the world is returning my feelings."

_I'll be the air that you breathe_

_I'll be the strength that you need_

_I'll be the light in your eyes_

_When all hope becomes hard to see._

Cleon heaved huge sigh of relief. "I wasn't sure you'd feel that way. How could you think no one would ever love you again? Kel, you make my life worth living."

He pulled away to place his lips on hers. The love he received chased away all doubt he had about her love for him. It was all right. THIS was all right. All the love he had so patiently stored away broke free.

Kel shivered at the sudden outpouring Cleon gave. Tears still streamed down her face. Cleon held her tightly. Their lips parted and he looked into the eyes of his love.

"Will you talk to Neal?"

Kel sighed. "If it makes you happy, I'll talk to him."

Cleon's eyes lit up. "Good! With some luck we could all be friends again!"

Kel laughed and pulled Cleon towards her in another kiss.

_I'll be you shining star_

_To guide you wherever you are_

_And I promise I will be by your side_

_Always you and I_


End file.
